Preview — The Priest
by Rowan McAllister

The Priest

Brother Tasnerek, one of the infamous Thirty-Six stone bearers, is facing a dangerous crisis of faith after uncovering a secret that could shake the foundations of the Brotherhood of Harot. When Tas is sent to protect a tiny village on the edge of Rassa’s borders from Riftspawn, he struggles to resume his duties, risking his life and thChronicles of the Riftlands: Book Two

Brother Tasnerek, one of the infamous Thirty-Six stone bearers, is facing a dangerous crisis of faith after uncovering a secret that could shake the foundations of the Brotherhood of Harot. When Tas is sent to protect a tiny village on the edge of Rassa’s borders from Riftspawn, he struggles to resume his duties, risking his life and the lives of those around him.

Girik has always been an outsider, but to help his sick mother, he agrees to be the village’s offering in a painful ritual deemed necessary by the Brotherhood. But when the priest has a crisis of conscience, Girik offers his help to untangle a web of lies—even if it means getting closer than he ever imagined and committing sacrilege in the process.

With a monster lurking in the forest, a wandering mage mysteriously appearing, and more secrets awakening to unravel the truths of their world, Tas and Girik must make grave decisions. A life without danger seems a far-off hope, but love just might be theirs… if they survive....more

Community Reviews

I love a We-have-to-have-sex-to-save-the-world book! Or in this case, We-have-to-have-sex-to-save-a-village. The Priest is the second in the Chronicles of the Riftlands series and follows The Wanderer. This series really must be read in order. There is so much world building that takes place in The Wanderer that it really helps set readers up for The Priest.

As with The Wanderer, excellent characters drive The Priest. Tas is actually kind of annoying and there were tA Joyfully Jay review.

5 stars

I love a We-have-to-have-sex-to-save-the-world book! Or in this case, We-have-to-have-sex-to-save-a-village. The Priest is the second in the Chronicles of the Riftlands series and follows The Wanderer. This series really must be read in order. There is so much world building that takes place in The Wanderer that it really helps set readers up for The Priest.

As with The Wanderer, excellent characters drive The Priest. Tas is actually kind of annoying and there were times I wanted to smack him, but his jumbled personality is believable and makes sense for someone in the middle of a religious and existential crisis. He’s constantly torn between doing the right thing and accepting the weight of his responsibilities. He’s somewhat caustic and haughty, but as a reader, I could sense so much of that was the bluff and bluster. He’s essentially a man whose entire sense of self is under attack. Girik is less well defined, but I think this was intentional on the part of the author as this was really Tas’ story. But his devotion and willingness to support Tas make Girik easy to like. He’s sort of the perfect boyfriend.

Brother Tasnerek is one of the Thirty-six stone bearers. He’s facing a crisis of faith, and he doesn’t know how to face the next ritual he has to perform for the next hunt.Girik is an outsider in his village, but he agrees to be the offering of the next ritual if the village will take care of his sick mother. Tas and Girik have nothing in common at first, until Tas fails the ritual and Girik helps him to find a better solution to save the village. But whenhttps://optimumm.blog/2019/09/13/revi...

Brother Tasnerek is one of the Thirty-six stone bearers. He’s facing a crisis of faith, and he doesn’t know how to face the next ritual he has to perform for the next hunt.Girik is an outsider in his village, but he agrees to be the offering of the next ritual if the village will take care of his sick mother. Tas and Girik have nothing in common at first, until Tas fails the ritual and Girik helps him to find a better solution to save the village. But when the spawn missed killing them, and a curious mage appears out of nowhere to help them, Tas and Girik will have to face the truth about their life, their future, and their feelings.The Priest by Rowan McAllister is book 2 in the Chronicles of the Riftlands. It can be read as a standalone.I adored The Wanderer, book 1 of this series, and I was happy to read this sequel.Tas is a young priest, the youngest in his position. After discovering some proof against his brotherhood and how they lost themselves in greed and power, Tas has a crisis. A crisis of his faith in his brotherhood, a crisis of his life and his purpose. He tries to hide at first, but when he must face Girik in the ritual for the hunt, Tas loses his nerve and confides about his doubt. I liked Tas. He was really lost between what he believed and the truth, but when he couldn’t deny it anymore, he tried to do what was the best to protect the innocent and Girik.Girik is an outsider among his village. People think of him as a simpleton, but Girik doesn’t care. He doesn’t care about what people think of him, he only cares about his mother, and he’s ready to do everything to make sure she’s well taken care of. She’s dying, and that’s why Girik accepts being the offering, but when he realises that Tas couldn’t perform the ritual, Girik tries to help him. I adored Girik. He’s smart, brave, fierce with a kind heart. He’s smarter than what people think. He didn’t hesitate to face a spawn to save Tas. I adored him.The story and the plot were good, a little bit slow at the beginning, but it made sense at the end. The author takes the time to explain all the context about Tas’ stone, the brotherhood and most importantly, the immediate connection between Girik and Tas. The MCs were well developed. I was happy to see Lyuc, Ian, and Brin. They’re part of this adventure, and they help Tas and Girik to accept their destiny.This book can be read at a standalone, but it’s better to read the series in order. Indeed, there’s a thread between each book, and it will be easier to understand all the background of this amazing universe.I can’t wait to read the next book, the end of The Priest announces more in the future for this misfit band, and more revelations will come.It’s 4 stars for them....more

Brother Tasnerek (or “Tas”) is one of the Thirty-Six stone bearers known as Brotherhood of Harot – although, they also called “pain priest” behind their back since they inflict pain upon Offerings, in order to charge their stone and hunt Spawns. Tas has been having crisis of faith lately, after he discovers a journal that claims such pain from Offerings is not necessary to charge the stone.

Girik is the latest Offering to help his village – and when Tas unable to do his job, Girik is se3.5 stars

Brother Tasnerek (or “Tas”) is one of the Thirty-Six stone bearers known as Brotherhood of Harot – although, they also called “pain priest” behind their back since they inflict pain upon Offerings, in order to charge their stone and hunt Spawns. Tas has been having crisis of faith lately, after he discovers a journal that claims such pain from Offerings is not necessary to charge the stone.

Girik is the latest Offering to help his village – and when Tas unable to do his job, Girik is set to help the priest, because they still need to get rid of the Spawn near their village.

I admit that at times, I was lost in the explanation of the Ancient Stone and the story of the Rift. I am not blaming the book though, it’s all my fault. I usually have low concentration when it comes to high fantasy tales – which is why I usually don’t read them *laugh*.

But the gist of The Priest is simple. Tas learns the web of lies that shaken his understanding about the Brotherhood. And in the meantime, Girik, the humble village man, is at his side which makes Tas also learns about love.

I slightly like the previous book better though – I thought Girik was rather bland, and Tas … well, Tas can be rather stubborn. I mean, when the previous characters from the first book – Lyuc, Yan, and Bryn – made appearance, I found the story to be more interesting. Maybe because I thought Lyuc and Yan’s relationship to be sweeter than Tas and Girik. And Bryn was awesome *laugh*

I think the story will continue though, because the ending of this book has yet described closure about what Lyuc, Tas, and everyone will do about the land.